Pop Report

Movies:
Live Free or Die Hard; I have a confession to make - I am a huge fan of the summer blockbuster/action flick! I've seen practically every Will Smith film involving robots and aliens, I wait for sequels with joyous anticipation, I can discuss the nuances of comic book versus movie. It's just something I like and I know they aren't the most intelligent movies, but they are a shit load of fun. That said one of the great action trilogies of all-time had a fourth sequel added to its ranks last year and I wasn't sure about it. For years I have quoted Detective John McClaine, but something felt wrong about a fourth movie, especially once we learned the Mac kid would be starring along side Bruce Willis. But watching the movie on Saturday night I was blown away by what may have been the best of all the Die Hard sequels (the first is still the best). For special effects and action there is hardly anything that could have competed with this flick. Seriously, when was the last time you though a semi could take down a fighter jet let alone saw it happen on screen? Yeah, that's what I thought. Beyond the effects and action sequences though the movie had a well devised plot and was thankfully missing and German terrorists (the Cold War is still over!), but had a former government insider playing the villain instead. In this day of 9/11 conspiracies and hatred of the government it was the perfect villain, and it made for a compelling story line to go along with all the action. Some things were super predictable, like the fact that you knew his daughter would be taken hostage, but that's okay. We all understand that with movies like this there are going to be some formulaic plot twists and we expect them, wait for them and then see how they all play out. Any fan of action flicks will love this movie, it has everything that we look for and amazingly it did wonderful justice to the Die Hard name.
Creedance Clearwater Revival - "Fortunate Son"

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Television:
The Office (Season 4, Episode 15); Since returning from the writer's strike The Office has been firing on all cylinders. It has had it's funny moments, it's completely awkward moments and it's endearing moments in each episode, continuing its reputation as one of the finest shows on television. This week was a bit of a lull though, but not much of one. Ryan returned to the office (note: I hate Ryan since he's becoming corporate) and Michael decides to go to New York to party with Ryan and try to meet a new suitorette. It was a pretty funny episode watching Ryan get all coked out in the clubs, watching Dwight hook up with a college basketball player (and a damn hot one), and watching Michael fail to grasp the whole club scene, but what was really hilarious were the folks back at the office putting in a hard night's work so they wouldn't have to come in on a Saturday and finding themselves locked inside the industrial park. It was amusing and had one of the funniest moments in Office history when Toby touches Pam's leg and gets caught. Instead of apologizing to Jim he announces that he's moving to Costa Rica and proceeds to jump the fence and run away. It was awkward, hysterical, and just down right amazing television. Lets hope they keep going in the right direction and that they never, ever bring back hour long episodes!
Wakey! Wakey! - "Cokehead"

30 Rock (Season 2, Episode 13); As good as The Office has been since the strike, 30 Rock has been even better. With each passing episode we are getting a look at the best show on TV right now. It is funnier then anything else out there, has better acting, is better written, it's just better then anything else on air right now. This week's episode was positively amazing, with everyone getting money hungry, and everyone failing at their attempted power grabs. Tracy is busy creating a porn video game (a brilliant idea if you ask me), while Jack and Liz are attempting to keep Geist going till he announces Jack as his successor. Between slaps and diabetic comas the duo fail in their power grab allowing GE to be turned over to Giest's practically retarded daughter while he tries to recover. It was hysterical and it provided one of the best quote in modern television history when Liz yells, "Suck it monkeys! I'm going corporate!". I'm still laughing every time I hear it, and I've already made it my myspace quote. Pure genius right there.

The Simpsons (Season 19, Episode 20); It's been a while since I caught one of the new episodes of The Simpsons but I'm pretty glad I caught this one. It wasn't mind blowing or Earth shattering, it was just a quality 30-minutes of television that I enjoyed thoroughly. Of course there were some fantastic lines, a few good shots of Ralph Wiggum and an amusing plot. All in all a solid Simpsons episode.

The Real World (Hollywood, Episodes 1 & 2); I will rail against reality television until I am blue in the face, yet for some reason I can still be drawn in to the original reality program the Real World. Now it's 900th season, the Real World started when I was a sucker and didn't know any better and a few too many weekends spent watching entire marathons of re-runs have led me to the point where if it's on I'll watch it. The new cast seems promising, and MTV has finally given up trying to hide the fact that these kids want to be stars by putting them in Hollywood. It all fits too well and should make for some compelling drama. My DVR is set for it and I'm sure I'll catch it from time to time, just don't judge me too harshly for this one.

Degrassi (Season 7, Episode 18); I've been bitching about the latest Degrassi episodes for a couple of weeks now and one of my chief complaints, the lack of original characters, was finally addressed this week. The episode centered around Emma (and her constatntly in turmoil family) and Tobey, who has practically been absent from the show this season. It was nice to have them back, but it was a little too forced and focused a little too squarely on the people surrounding them. Basically the halls of Degrassi have become too crowded for their own good and they need to start getting rid of this dead weight. I think some changes are coming down the pipeline (the news that the actress that plays Darcy has signed on for a 90210 spin off frightens me) and it all may start this week when Paige hooks up with their new-ish roommate. Should make for some "go there" moments which have been sorely missing for weeks.
Pink Floyd - "Another Brick in the Wall (Part I)"

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Music Links:
- Get your free Coldplay download here. As if you didn't know that one already.
- Daytrotter did a session with some no name band called Death Cab for Cutie. Shitty name, way too long, they'll never get anywhere.
- Watch the GG Allin documentary on Pitchfork.tv, just be warned it is a vile piece of music history for sure.
- Old Pitchfork interviewed Boris (but haven't bestowed Best New Music on their awesome new album - yet.)
- Those Fork lovers also made Ruby Suns post a Guest List questionnaire on the internet Myspace style.
- NYCTapper announced a 1-year anniversary show featuring Pop Tart faves Bridges and Powerlines, The Lisps, and The Diggs.
- The Thermals did some Take Away Show, and all they got was a lousy t-shirt.
- L Magazine listed it's "8 NYC Bands You Need to Hear" and the list is headed by several of my favorite local acts including The Lisps, High Places, and Violens!
- The Fader went ahead and asked The Death Set some questions. No word on whether The Death Set asked for a lawyer to be present or not.
- Muzzle of Bees asked Cloud Cult five questions. Upon answering the band were allowed to cross the bridge and continue on their tour.
- Puddlegum pointed me towards the streaming of the new EP from The Twilight Sad. Check it out!

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Sports:
- It looks like the Rangers season may be done in the second round of the playoffs for the second straight year. After a tremendous series dominating the Devils, the Rangers have been killed by the Penguins power play and terribly costly mistakes. If it is truly the end it's been a good year, but ultimately a disappointing one.
- How bad are the Yankees right now? Pretty bad.